Friday, August 1, 2008

Roasted Garlic and Sausage Ravioli

The boys finished their first block of swimming lessons today at the YMCA and graduated up to the next level. Son #1 is now a Seal (up from Otter), and Son #2 is now a Floater. I can think of at least two things wrong with that name. Now, on to the food! I know this is going to sound insane coming from the guy who makes his own phyllo dough and puff pastry, but I don't think I have the patience for ravioli. It was so time consuming and finicky that it drove me to the brink of insanity. In fact, I kept making bigger and bigger ravioli just so I could use up the filling faster. That being said, the filling itself was really, really, good, and I plan to use it for homemade cannelloni in the very near future.

- 1/2 recipe vegan sausage, shaped into one mother sausage (I went crazy with the spices this time--oregano, parsley, marjoram, basil, fennel, rosemary, etc. If it sounded good, I put it in)

- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

- salt and pepper

- marinara sauce

METHOD1. Make sausage and cool. Slice into chunks and place in a blender. Pulse until sausage is resembles ground meat.

2. Meanwhile, dry roast the garlic in a small pan over medium heat. Turn regularly to keep from burning. Cook for about 15 mins, until soft. Remove from pan. When cool, squeeze garlic out of skins and mash into a paste.

3. In a bowl, mix together garlic, ground seitan, and fresh parsley.

4. Get a large pot of salted water boiling. Start heating your sauce.

5. Roll out a chunk of pasta with your pasta roller, according to the directions. My roller has 8 settings and I stopped at number 7. Place rolled pasta on a lightly floured surface. Mark a line that bisects the pasta lengthwise. Place about 1 tsp of filling between that line and the edge about every 1 1/2" (you should get at least 6 ravioli per pasta sheet). Brush all around the filling with water.

5. Fold pasta lengthwise over the filling. Press out any air caught between the pasta and press down around the filling. Slice in between the filling lumps to make separate ravioli, and seal all edges with a fork. Place on a floured towel while you make the rest.

6. It does not take long to cook these. Place into the boiling water. When water returns to boil and ravioli are floating, they are done. Drain immediately.

7. Place a large spoonful of sauce in the bottom of a pasta bowl. Top with ravioli, and then more sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve.